bone shaker
by gacrux11
Summary: Tsuna and Enma and the last fight they'll ever fight against each other. 2700. Oneshot.


I don't own Reborn! yo.

**bone shaker**

It's Tsuna in his hyper dying will form with his hands twined in Enma's (fighting for power neither will gain) and their eyes (red and hazel-orange; they always were fire like that, he supposed) locked tight and their foreheads pressed so close their lips _almost _brushed (but didn't because Enma was snarling with his and Tsuna was pursing his into a thin line).

Then there's a break.

Enma snaps and reels back just to throw him right down again into the ground. Tsuna bites back the dirt and mentally claims the tears are just dust in his eyes (he can be tough too, after all) and then he sees Enma aiming his own (variantly named, of course) version of X-Burner and Tsuna knows if he doesn't counter he'll die.

But something makes him pause; it's the desperation

It's the desperation he sees in the those red eyes, and in the eyes around him (watching with a violent will and a set goal in mind); it's the desperation in this fight that is nothing but a continuation of a spat borne long ago (they shouldn't even be fighting!); it's the desperation in his own will to survive and conquer and teach them all the valuable lesson about crossing the Vongola (they almost killed Yamamoto, after all; unforgivable).

But a voice down in his stomach (in his gut and his heart) was telling him that _no! You can't settle anything this way! _He couldn't listen; didn't have time to listen.

He aimed X-Burner and Enma was just watching him. Watching him like he was dirt and grime and stupidity all wrapped up and put in a metaphorical box. Or a cage, he guessed, if the Simon famiglia got their way.

He was at fifteen percent power and he could see Gokudera (fought like a true warrior and took the alleged U.M.A down after a violent struggle) and Yamamoto (he'd come right after he woke up and _still _managed to defeat Kaoru to within an inch of his life but still, mercifully, let him go) gripping each other to keep from falling and Ryohei (took Koyo down after discovering his own new talents but might never box again; a devastating side effect no one counted on) was to their left with an exhausted Lambo (obviously worn out with the most emotionally damaging fight behind his back; he had never tasted betrayal before). Chrome – currently Mukuro – was lacking his usual luster (someone should have told him Julie was so clever; so much like him) and beside him Hibari (disgusted with himself for feeling like he and that Adelheid Suzuki could have been allies because of their similar ideals) was determined not to look worn. It wasn't working.

He was at thirty percent when finally worked up the courage to look at the other side of the field. Koyo was passed out on the sidelines with Rauji looking over him and making sure he never went into seriously critical condition even though both of them look broken beyond repair (their pride was stolen out from under their feet again, after all) and to their left was Shitt-P looking oddly thoughtful as she sat there in her meditation (she might just have been the only one there that didn't look like she outwardly hated the Vongola) and Adelheid (semi-broken, but not beyond repair) was making sure Julie (shamed by how close he was to a win; he was _this _close! He swears it) didn't jump into the fray that was Enma versus Tsuna because he would die, no doubt. As for Kaoru (stabbed several times, but not to kill) he was sitting down with this weird look in his eyes. Like he knew something they didn't.

At forty-five percent he was trying to ignore that he stung and ached just _everywhere _and he wanted to cry; he wanted to rip something apart; he wanted to banish his own stupid emotions. He still realized emotions were the only thing giving him the power to charge his X-Burner and give his flames life but it felt like his own life was being dragged out of him; forcefully tugged and pulled out of his mouth and his pores and it _hurt, _dammit! He wanted to cry again and then the vicious cycle continued.

At sixty percent he realized people were counting on him to do this; to finish Enma off and send the Simon family away for good. Lock them up in Vendicare and completely erase their existence. He had to do it. He had no choice. It was for all his guardians and Reborn and the Vongola bosses before him; for Kyoko and Haru; for Spanner and Shoichi and Basil, I-Pin, Bianchi, and Fuuta and his _parents _(what would he do without them, anyway?) and for the Varia of course, no matter how much they may or may not have been a thorn in his side in the past (they helped him grow in the end and they made him realize the world is cruel but produced the most loyal friends he could ever ask for). He had to do this. He did. But something still didn't add up to him.

At seventy-five percent he was looking at Enma again and if he was as doubtful or insecure as Tsuna was he sure wasn't showing it. That in itself was unnerving because he thought Enma was like _him! _What happened to the Enma he could relate to? Was he really gone for good? Or was there ever a relatable Enma to begin with? Was it all a lie? An act? A fraud? Had Tsuna been played for the idiot he really was? He didn't think he would be able to stand it if that was the case. He didn't want to be the only "loser" again. He wanted to be friends with Enma! He wanted to be able to suffer through every day life with him and still laugh about it in the end! Why did it have to happen that way? Why did Enma have to see him as the villain? He just wanted to make everyone happy.

At ninety percent Tsuna felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was crushing and vile and it felt like he would bend and break and be left in _ruin _beneath it. He felt like nothing at all.

"You're such a worthless traitor," Enma hissed at him with his lips curled back into a snarl of sorts.

Tsuna shook his head; his resolve was faltering.

"You're worthless, terrible, and _cowardly!_" Enma roared, forgetting himself, and Tsuna flinched back at the venom he heard. "You'll feel our pain! You'll feel our sorrows until your every bone in your body _shatters!_"

And suddenly everything came to a crumbling halt in Tsuna's mind because he lost his resolve in whole and he started to fall. He fell, and Enma's red flames flared across the sky, reaching and whispering for him; wanting to eat him up.

As he fell he could see Enma's face contorted between a confused stare and a furious glower; his eyes watched close and didn't leave him; his flames died out and then all was silent.

They were a ways up, Enma and he. Tsuna hadn't really noticed it before but as he landed on the roughed-up grass he felt the sparks of pain dancing up his nerves and he realized that they _were _a ways up. Why he noticed that, he may never know.

He noted blearily that Enma had dropped down a few meters away from him with this look in his eyes that told him he wasn't finished but he didn't know whether to try and start again or pick up the slack they dropped.

"Wh-" Enma couldn't get a word in edgewise because Gokudera was suddenly standing in front of Tsuna, blocking his view and Yamamoto was beside him with a fierce glare. Hibari and Mukuro were both flanking him now and Lambo and Ryohei had stood up in a flash looking uncharacteristically serious.

It seemed Enma's guardians had done the same – even Koyo and Kaoru managed to hobble over and look pathetic, really, standing there all beaten up but at least they were loyal.

And then the silence stopped because Tsuna could vaguely hear a vehement argument going on but that just faded into the background. He was too busy watching Enma watch him from where he lay slightly curled into himself to even bother with listening.

He still had that shred of pride left, though, so he sat up (hissed in pain, but sat up anyway) and watched back. While he watched, Enma began inching his way toward Tsuna, making sure their guardians were too busy fighting amongst themselves to notice the slight change in position.

He inched closer and closer until their guardians had collectively migrated further away while they were shouting at each other (Tsuna still didn't know what the fuss was about) so he shook the dirt off his pants and walked right over to him before plopping back down beside the brunet.

Then the silence started again – but it wasn't the silence you might normally define as silence because their guardians were still roaring at each other and the wind was whistling through the leaves and the trees were creaking as they swayed but it was silent.

And it left Tsuna to do nothing but stare and stare and stare at Enma Kozato and _wonder._

"What happened?" Tsuna mumbled with a quiet intensity that might have unsettled himself had it been any other moment in his life.

"...You didn't pass the test." And then the boy with red hair that had made Tsuna believe in real friendship – he explained why he had to hate Tsuna so much; why they couldn't be friends; why they had set the Vongola up for destruction; why he really just wanted to cry these days.

So Tsuna explained right back.

The boy with the kind brown eyes that had made Enma believe in real friendship – he explained why he liked Enma so much; why they _had_ to be friends; why the Vongola would forgive the Simon famiglia if they would forgive them in return; why he really just wanted to hear Enma's laugh these days.

And everything just came back together again (after convincing their rather displeased guardians, of course), leaving what it _was _a silhouette to what it _became_.

_a/n: _ffffft. Enma and Tsuna were made for each other, don't deny it. Anyway. No beta, so here's a belated sorry for grammar/spelling :|


End file.
